She stepped into the light like a shadow in sunlight.
They didn't see her face first. They didn't hear her voice. The first thing they noticed was the metal. A sniper rifle, slung over her shoulder caught the last slant of orange light from the setting sun. It didn't swing wildly. It sat still. Like it was made to be there. Like it had been there all along.
Her braid swung like liquid copper, catching the last light from the dying sun every time she moved. It trailed behind her like a banner. Dust swirled in the air around her boots, but she kicked it all away. She stepped without sound. No stumbling. No panic. Just quiet, sure-footed confidence.
She didn't look like a survivor.
Not here. Not now.
Too clean. Too calm. Too, incongruously, beautiful.
The end of the world stripped people down. Stripped them of their hope. Their pride. Their health. It left cracked lips, ash-covered skin, and eyes too tired to cry. But she looked untarnished. Like a lie. A dream stitched into the middle of a nightmare.
Mira Zhao was the first to move. Her hands went to their gun without thinking. Gun up. Safety off. Breath hissed out of her mouth.
But Adrian raised a hand in front of her. "Wait."
He didn't take his eyes off the woman.
The stranger didn't start or flinch. She didn't move. Didn't even reach for her own gun. Instead, she stopped a few paces away, perched on the lip of the scorched pavement. She didn't look afraid. Only quietly amused. Her smile was soft, but it carried a warning.
"You're welcome," she said.
Her voice was low. Smooth. Even. Like someone who'd seen too much of the world not to be scared anymore.
She brushed away a strand of hair from her face with one hand like she had just stepped out of a café, not a rooftop slaughter of armed raiders.
"I would recommend you leave," she continued. "This place is going to get noisy."
Nobody said anything.
Tom sat in the dirt with a hand on his leg. Blood was running down his jeans. His eyes were huge, blank.
Bryce, not fully conscious, made a sound of pain.
Even Ellis, who talked too much for his own good, had nothing to say. His smirk had gone missing.
The woman leaned the heavy rucksack off her shoulder. It thudded on the ground, making a small cloud of dust. The team looked at her. Then they opened the rucksack. The contents of it made them freeze.
Ration packs. Antibiotics. Gauze. Disinfectant. Real, factory sealed meds. Enough to go around.
Ellis blinked. "Where the hell did you get all this?"
Julyah said nothing. She just looked at them. Her gaze lingered on each of them just long enough to make them feel acknowledged, evaluated.
Then as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world, she added, "I can get you somewhere safe."
Adrian scrunched his eyes shut. "Who are you?"
Julyah tilted her head. Thought for a second. Then she smiled again.
Not a wide smile. Just a small one. Crooked. It didn't expose her teeth. But it... felt. Important.
"Call me Julyah."
The name dropped into their silence like a pebble in a pond. Ripples. Questions.
Adrian stepped closer. "Why are you here?"
Julyah shrugged a little. "Just passing through." Her tone was breezy. Almost careless. But her eyes didn't match it. They remained hard and alert, scanning the ruins for threats, always watchful.
Her gaze flicked to the rooftops, broken windows, plumes of smoke. Always assessing. Always on edge.
"We should leave," she said, turning. "It's not safe."
Nobody disagreed.
She led them through the ruins, charred trucks, broken fences, blackened debris still warm from the fires. The team limped after her. Hurt and shaken. The air felt thick, like they were all holding their breath.
She never looked back.
She didn't have to.
It took hours of slow walking before they left the worst of the city behind. Trees replaced metal. The air, while still sharp with ash, cooled and became cleaner.
Then the trees opened up.
And there it was.
A villa.
Stone walls covered in flowering vines, some of them still in bloom out of season. Solar panels lined the roof, angled perfectly. A thick metal fence surrounded the entire complex, reinforced and laced with barbed wire and motion sensors. Someone had prepared this place before. Prepared it well. Before the world had ended.
Mira gasped.
Bryce, who had been leaning on Greer's shoulder, mumbled, "Fuck no."
Ellis whispered, "Is this a hallucination?"
Tom just dropped to the ground and stared up at the sky like he didn't know if he should laugh or cry.
Inside the villa, there was filtered air. Clean sheets. Cold water. Hot food. Showers. A working oven. Batteries. Lanterns. Books. Tools.
Everything they had given up hope for.
And it was all real.
They sat in the big room of the villa, silent and staring, unable to fully process what they were seeing. Outside, the wind screamed through the trees. But in here, it was like another world. A piece of the old world, frozen in time.
Adrian stood in the doorway, watching her.
She stood by the window now, hands behind her back, staring out at the forest.
"You weren't passing through," he said quietly.
Julyah turned her head slightly. "No," she said. "I was waiting."
Adrian studied her. Searching for the things she didn't say. "Waiting for us?"
She didn't say anything for a moment. Then she looked at him.
For you.